JMS Hockey

Most rink staff at Woog and Hayes wait 5, 10 or sometimes 15 minutes after the 90 minute buzzer to open the rink doors and resurface the ice. In contrast, a few weeks back, the guy at Woog shut off half of the rink lights right at the 90 minute buzzer and everyone cleared the ice. I suppose many (or most) skaters are happy to have the extra ice time but I'm often tired at the end and sometimes wish we'd stop after 90 minutes. I've seen other players leave the ice early but since I'm a goalie, my early departure has a bigger impact on the skaters that remain. I've only played 16 games so it's not for me to dictate how things are done but I'm curious if other players have thoughts to share about this topic.

Its pickup hockey. Bonus time is always nice but if you need to get going at the 90 minute mark nobody should care or be upset with you. honestly the "hockey" is usually pretty crappy by that point anyway! :)

Normally, if a session I'm running gets extra time, I skate by each goalie and tell them "It looks like we're getting extra time but since you've been on the ice for the entire 90 minutes if you're done tell me and I'll end the game, everyone's gotten their ice time, so it's no big deal" That way if they want to keep playing that's great but if not I'm the one ending the game so they don't feel guilty just leaving. If they do stay I tell them they can skate off the ice anytime and I'll call the game.

Okay, thanks everyone for your feedback. Yesterday was the first time I stepped off the ice before the Zamboni and that only because I had also played the previous night. I guess I'll just play as long as I can and count it as extra conditioning. It's really a trivial concession for me to make considering how much I'm enjoying the pickup games.

Goalies - never, ever feel like you need to stay past the 90-minute mark. In every JMS session I've ever skated, goalies are just getting shelled the last 15 minutes (sometimes more) with endless breakaways and zero defense. Games get sloppy and ragged, and goalies are getting peppered. If the rink gives us extra time, and both goalies stay - great. If not, call it a night and hit the parking lot for beers. Just my 2 cents...

I agree; goalies you’ve committed to 90 minutes in net, after that your commitment is done and you can skate away with our appreciation.

I am feeling the goalie love in this post! Well, except when Patrick scores on me. :-( lol